p' 



'i^^miw 



mk 



:i^:x'\\ 4 



m. 



|<'i,..;i'4'. 
1 1 Ui'i , 



s;x- ■:;■■;'■< 



"^ 



%j 



!' :•■' ,,'r;i„;' 
X '.;'., .",■••■' ■ 



V 

'■■A'- 



Ji;'{^p,r.r;;;.)O{->.0,;- 



X ^1 ■.' 

i''::x:;;.;:; 






;:;.;.ji;||.'.H|}::i-^g;i,;,;^ ,, ■ 



f' <• <(n 



v., 



r^'f%vJ^'\,h 



, ;;:'i'i;'-u::;;i:.';"'^<;;';:^ 

^.1 ■>•:'-::::• -->' •:•• 






'." ^^.►' 













Class __C_SLLi2_ 
Rnnir > A^^ 
Cqpglit'N? 



cojmucur deposoi 



OFO 



^i 



so 



CONCERNING GENEALOGIES 



CONCERNING 
GENEALOGIES 

BEING SUGGESTIONS OF VALUE FOR ALL 
INTERESTED IN FAMILY HISTORY 

BY 

FRANK ALLABEN 

Director of the Genealogical and Biographical Department 

of The Grafton Press ; Compiler of the Biographical 

Volumes of The Memorial History of New York 

and of Leslie's History of Greater New York 




THE aRAFTON PRESS 

70 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK 






.f^"' 



LIBRARY of CONGRtSS 
Two Copies Received 

DEC 1 1^04 

Copyn^nt Entry 

CUSS O^ XXc Noi 
COPY b. 



] 




Copyright 1904 by 
The Grafton Press 



PEEFACE 

This little book puts the pleasure of tracing one's 
ancestry within reach of those who have had no pre- 
vious practice. It covers every phase of the subject— 
the sources of information^ the methods of research, 
the compiling, the printing, and the publishing of 
a genealogy. 

Strong emphasis is laid upon the importance of 
employing the historical method, without which no 
genealogical work can become authoritative. If we 
may judge from most of the family histories in print, 
a vigorous protest against pernicious methods should 
be lodged with professional genealogists as well as 
with amateurs. 

Special attention is also called to the radically 
different plans for genealogical works, one tracing the 
many descendants of a common ancestor, the other 
tracing the many ancestors of a common descendant. 
There is a general drift toward the latter, many hav- 
ing discovered the fascination of exploring their di- 
rect lines of descent who would not care to trace the 
collateral branches of a family ^Hribe.^^ But a de- 
tailed plan of work devoted to the exhibit of the 
many lines of one's own ancestry is here formulated 



for the first time. This " Grafton Plan/' as we have 
called it,— already carried into execution, and ap- 
proved by experience,— will appeal to thousands for 
whom '' tribal '' genealogies have little interest. 

Our little volume also offers something more than 
a mere theory of how to proceed in genealogical work. 
It tells of labor-saving notebooks devised for each 
kind of genealogy, and explains ways in which our 
own genealogical department is placed at the service 
of the reader. 

Frank Allaben. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I Ancestry Hunting 9 

n The Joys of Research 19 

m Compiling 29 

IV The " Clan " Genealogy 37 

V The " Grafton '' Genealogy 46 

VI The Printing 56 

VII Publishing 64 



i 

4 



CONCERNING GENEALOGIES 



ANCESTRY HUNTING 

EVEEYONE has leisure moments which are 
apt to hang heavy upon one^s hands unless 
employed in some sort of recreation. One 
turns to golf and outdoors, another goes forth with 
gun or rod, a third arms himself with a camera. 
Many dabble a little in science. Some take to the 
telescope and star-gazing, while the microscope claims 
others, who haunt scummy ponds with jars and bot- 
tles in search of diatoms, and other denizens of a drop 
of stagnant water. One goes in for bugs, another for 
ferns or fungi. Others, of a bookish turn of mind, 
do their hunting in the dark corners of second-hand 
bookstores, hoping to stumble upon a first edition or 
some other treasure. 

But it is doubtful if the whole range of hobbies 
can produce anything half so fascinating as the hunt 
for one's ancestry. This combines the charm and ex- 
citement of every other pastime. What sportsman 
ever bagged such royal game as a line of his own fore- 
bears ? What triumph of the rod and reel ever gave 
the thrill of ecstasy with which we land an elusive 
ancestor in the genealogical net? If any proof be 
needed of the fascination of this pursuit, behold the 
thousands who are taking it up ! The nooks and 



10 CONCERNING GENEALOGIES 

crannies of civilization are their hunting-grounds — 
any corner where man has left a documentary trace 
of himself. Behold them, eager enthusiasts, besieging 
the libraries, poring over tomes of deeds and wills 
and other documents in State and county archives, 
searching the quaint and musty volumes of town an- 
nals, thumbing dusty pages of baptismal registers, and 
frequenting churchyards to decipher the fast-fading 
names and dates on mossgrown tombstones, yellow 
and stained with age, or cracked and chipped by the 
frosts and rains of many seasons ! 

A tidal wave of ancestry-searching has indeed swept 
over the country. Genealogical and biographical so- 
cieties have been organized. Periodicals have sprung 
up which confine themselves exclusively to this sub- 
ject. Newspapers are devoting departments to it. 
The so-called patriotic societies and orders have be- 
come a host, with branches in nearly every State. 
They count their members by tens of thousands, their 
rolls are steadily increasing, and new societies are 
constantly being organized. There is scarcely an 
achievement in which our ancestors took part which 
has not been made the rallying-point of some flour- 
ishing society. All these draw life and nourishment 
from the mighty stream of genealogical research. 
We must prove that we have had ancestors, and that 
one or more of them had the distinction celebrated 
by the particular organization at whose door we knock 
for admission. 

Librarians and the custodians of public records 



ANCESTRY HUNTING 11 

bear witness to this great movement. The libraries 
have become wonderfully popular^ thronged by mul- 
titudes who have enrolled themselves in the army of 
amateur genealogists. So onerous has become the 
work of handing out historical and genealogical books 
that in some large libraries such works have been 
gathered into alcoves which are thrown open to the 
public, where the ancestry-hunter may help himself. 

Formerly such public records as deeds and wills 
constituted the special preserve of the lawyer. But 
his monopoly is a thing of the past. The genealogist 
has invaded this domain and established equal rights. 
He still leaves to the lawyer the dry searching of 
titles to property, choosing for himself the pleasanter 
task of sifting out important data for the biography 
of an ancestor, or for the proofs of a line of descent. 

Old church record books, with their marriage and 
baptismal registers, have acquired an extraordinary 
value. In many cases these volumes have been res- 
cued out of dark corners and from beneath accumu- 
lations of dust and debris where they had been tossed 
as ecclesiastical junk. But the pastors and church 
secretaries who unearthed them, at the instance of in- 
quiring genealogists, have now discovered a profitable 
occupation for their leisure in transcribing items for 
correspondents. Indeed, a number of societies are 
now engaged in collecting these old registers, or in 
making transcripts for their archives. 

What is the subtle attraction which draws these 
multitudes — the fascination which lures so many into 



12 CONCEKNING GENEALOGIES 

genealogical research ? We have hinted that the pur- 
suit of \ancestry yields the exhilaration both of the 
chase arid the stillhunt, kindling the suspense of ex- 
pectation into sudden thrills of discovery, as keen as 
those y^hen the wary canvas-back flies low over the 
blind, or a pair of antlers comes crashing through 
the brush. 

But while genealogical research affords all the ex- 
citement of the chase, it is followed by no reproach 
for having taken life, but by the permanent satisfac- 
tion peculiar to the benefactor of mankind. The an- 
cestry-hunter does not kill, but brings to life. He 
revives the memories of the dead, and benefits the 
world with an honorable contribution to the science 
of history. For a trophy he does not show a string 
of fish, nor a few birds and skins to distribute among 
friends, but a genuine historical work of ever-increas- 
ing value, which hands down his name to an appre- 
ciative posterity. 

We have compared the peculiar delight of estab- 
lishing a family link, long shrouded in mystery or 
attended with harassing doubts, to the angler's joy 
in landing a notable catch. In both cases the issue 
may long hang in the balance between skilful manip- 
ulation and a possible stroke of bad luck, which no 
skill can guard against. The fish may be reeled in 
or given his head without a single mistake of judg- 
ment. But who can foresee the sharp rock, the hid- 
den snag, which cuts or entangles the line? And 
so, too, is skill most richly rewarded in searching for 



ANCESTKY HUNTING 13 

ancestors; but what can it avail against the positive 
wiping out of indispensable records ? 

We recall one of these genealogical tragedies, which 
cast its shadow over a remarkable record of successes 
in tracing a number of interesting lines for a gentle- 
man who could start us off with no more than the 
names and birth-places of his parents. Two lines re- 
mained which pointed back by strong evidence to 
European connections of the titled class. All that 
was needed in one case was a clue to show to which of 
several branches of the family in Great Britain, the 
first American ancestor belonged. But to this day 
that clue has eluded every attempt to pick it up by 
research here or abroad. 

Cases which are parallel up to this point are not 
uncommon. But the tragedy has yet to be told. At 
the colonial homestead of this ancestor we learned 
that his personal papers had, indeed, been preserved 
from generation to generation. Their last owner, a 
maiden lady, had carefully kept them in an old 
trunk, which was itself an ancient heirloom. But 
she had never taken the pains to examine their con- 
tents, and only a short time before our investigation 
brought us upon the scene, these hoary documents, 
after surviving the vicissitudes of seven generations, 
had been destroyed in a fire which reduced the old 
house to ashes ! 

Who can express the sorrow of it? No finder of 
Captain Kidd's buried treasure could gloat over 
Spanish doubloons and glittering gems with half the 



14 CONCEKNING GENEALOGIES 

delight with which we would have contemplated those 
ancient parchments. How fondly onr fingers would 
have turned the precious pages and smoothed the 
creases of those yellow papers! But now no hand 
may touch them^ no antiquarian^s eye explore nor pen 
exploit their contents to the world! If our friend 
had only sought his forebears earlier, and launched 
us sooner upon the voyage of discovery ! 

The other line, it is true, had no disappointments 
for us. It even yielded the discovery and possession 
of an original parchment pedigree, signed by an offi- 
cial herald of arms, which the ancestor had brought 
over with him, exhibiting his descent from the many 
Sir Williams and Sir Johns of an ancient Lincoln- 
shire family extending back nearly to the Conqueror. 
It also enabled us to confirm the connection through 
official sources in England, and to prove that the emi- 
grant was the son and heir in the line of primogeni- 
ture. For these kind favors, we trust that we were 
truly thankful. But they could scarcely comfort us 
for the lost papers which might have carried back 
another line in the same distinguished fashion. 

Thus, genealogy has its griefs as well as its joys- 
some disappointments among many triumphs. But 
so it is with life and with everything worth while. 
Who would care to measure skill with a gamefish if 
the creature had no chance ? Or who would glory in 
the death of a bull-moose that a look could bowl 
over? In genealogical research it is the part played 
by skill and by the unknown quantities which gives 



ANCESTEY HUNTING 15 

to it all the fascination, with none of the risks and 
evils, of a great game of skill and chance. 

Another pleasure is the sensation of original discov- 
ery. Would you experience the feelings of a Colum- 
bus ? Then set forth to explore the unsailed seas and 
hidden continents of your own or some other person's 
ancestry! If your own happens to be virgin terri- 
tory you are one of fortune's favorites, with the 
ripest joys of life just before you. Nor is it any 
question of great achievements or high social position 
enjoyed by the ancestor. The truth is that all ances- 
tors are remarkable persons. In the first place they 
are our ancestors, and in the second place it is a note- 
worthy fact, as mysterious as delightful, that every 
homely feature about them wears a wondrous glamour 
and dignity. Their homesteads, their property, their 
church affiliations, their signatures, any little act of 
barter or sale,— all these items create an absorbing 
interest as they stand recorded in old archives. 

We remember, as if it were yesterday, the peculiar 
charm of the simplest details in clearing up our fam- 
ily history. The most that parents, aunts and great- 
uncles could give was a vague tradition of a certain 
great-great-grandfather, a captain in the Eevolution 
whose chief distinction seemed to have been his suc- 
cess in getting captured by the British and having his 
silver knee buckles stolen by a Tory. Of course he 
subsequently escaped, met that Tory, knocked him 
down, and recaptured the silver buckles. 

Turning to the records we were able to identify 



16 CONCERNmG GENEALOGIES 

this energetic patriot without trouble, although in 
the process he dwindled from a " captain ^^ to a " ser- 
geant/^ and even held the latter title on a rather un- 
certain tenure, having been once "reduced/^ Indeed, 
his military record ends (shall we confess it?) with 
the rather compromising word, " deserted/^ But what 
of that? This flesh-and-blood progenitor is much 
more to our liking than any starched and laced dig- 
nitary of the imagination. And while history saith 
not concerning the knee buckles, that he was ready 
with his fists seems altogether probable in the light 
of his subsequent career. His title of " captain ^^ was 
acquired at sea. He commanded a craft in the waters 
of Long Island, where he met an untimely death — 
through '' foul play,^^ says that old gossip Tradition, 
whose tongue we dare not trust. Features of mystery 
still remain, and if we knew all, it is possible that we 
could lay claim to a picturesque pirate— a most de- 
sirable addition to any family line, and especially so 
if he escaped hanging. 

Much as we delighted in this liberty-loving indivi- 
dual, the reader will understand that we thought well 
to look backward for a more sober character to main- 
tain the family dignity. We found several who filled 
the role of quiet respectability to perfection, and thus 
reached the emigrant-founder of the line, a gentle- 
man who drew our special affections by the extreme 
littleness of his greatness and the romantic character 
of his surroundings. He was of French Huguenot 
descent, a weaver by trade, and possessed of a " frame 



ANCESTRY HUNTING 17 

for a dwelling house . . . twenty foot in length 
and sixteen foot in bredth/^ and other realty in the 
shape of an acre of woodland and an acre of upland 
^' lying in a place called Hog-Neck/^ bounded by ^' a 
cove west ^^ and '^ ye Goose Creek north/^ What dis- 
tinctions ! Not every one can boast such a progeni- 
tor, a wielder of loom and shuttle on the lordly pro- 
montory of Hog-Neck, where the gentle waters of 
Goose Creek flow into the sea, near the ancient town 
of Southold. 

We could not doubt that such a character had 
other claims to distinction; and sure enough, the 
achievement of having loitered in this world for nine- 
ty-six and one-half years is carved upon his tomb- 
stone in the old cemetery where he rests beside a 
third wife, who herself attained to ninety-two sum- 
mers ! Peace be to their ashes ! We can almost see 
this famous ancestor, the patriarch of the village, 
toiling down its long street under the weight of the 
honor of his many years, responding to the greetings 
of man, woman and child with a cheery nod and a 
pleasant French accent. We would not have one sin- 
gle feature changed in order to place him upon a 
higher pedestal. 

His father and grandfather, as we learn from old 
documents, were elders and leaders in one of the 
French churches established in England by the Hu- 
guenots in the sixteenth century. But the dignity of 
these men, banished from their native soil by the 
atrocities of St. Bartholomews day, can not outshine 



18 CONCERNING GENEALOGIES 

the quiet glory of the aged weaver of Hog-Neck and 
Goose Creek, nor even put to shame the restless career 
of their later descendant of the Eevolutionary epoch. 
In fact, throughout the entire ancestral line we found 
every progenitor perfect in his place and after his 
kind. And so has it ever been with the genealogist, 
and so will it be to the end of time. 

We may add that genealogical work is literary 
work— a fact which adds immensely to its fascina- 
tion. The genealogist tastes all the delights of au- 
thorship, added to those of research and discovery; 
and it is the purpose of this little volume to bring 
these pleasures within the reach of all. For is there 
a reader of books who would not take delight in mak- 
ing one, if he thought himself competent and the 
labor not too great? 



II 

THE JOYS OF KESEAECH 

It will not require much space to indicate the main 
sources of information in genealogical research. Hav- 
ing decided to trace back our own lines, we naturally 
turn first to the living members of our family. If 
we have parents living and accessible,— grandparents, 
great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, great-aunts, cou- 
sins, or others who are likely to know more about the 
family than we do,— let us consult them, personally 
if we may, by letter if we must. We expect to learn 
most from the older members of the family, provided 
that their faculties are unimpaired. Certainly we 
should make no delay in applying to the aged, before 
the opportunity passes away forever. 

But when we have gathered all the facts and tra- 
ditions which these sources can contribute, the main 
work of research begins. Our advice at this point 
can be given here only in a general way. " The next 
thing to do^^ depends upon the peculiar circumstances 
of each case— upon the known facts, the localities to- 
which they point, and the character of the resources 
in each locality. We have devised a plan of render- 
ing assistance in such cases to those who need it 
which will be explained at the end of this chapter. 

In a general way we here refer to the wills, deeds, 
intestate records, tax and court records on file at the 
county seats, and to the miscellaneous records, often 



20 CONCEENING GENEALOGIES 

of great value for genealogical purposes, on file at 
the State Capitals. The value of church registers 
has been mentioned. They contain membership rolls, 
and records of marriages, baptisms and deaths. In 
many cases the date of birth is given with that of 
baptism. In New England and many other places, 
the old town records are exceedingly valuable sources, 
the births of children being frequently recorded, be- 
sides early property transactions, contracts, and much 
else showing the status of the early settlers in the 
community. 

The records in old family Bibles are often ^^ short- 
cuts,^^ while other family papers, if old, frequently 
have a special value. The records on tombstones are 
a resource apparent to all. The Pension Bureau at 
Washington has records of the soldiers of the Eevo- 
lutionary and later wars who drew pensions. Early 
warrants for the survey of lands are recorded at 
many State Capitals. A large miscellaneous collec- 
tion of historical manuscripts, many of them contain- 
ing genealogical information, will be found in the 
custody of historical and genealogical societies. 

The resources in libraries are almost endless. The 
genealogical works already published are a host in 
themselves, to which we must add the genealogies 
given completely, or in part, in periodicals. The line 
we are interested in may have appeared in one of 
them, or may be referred to in their pages. Certain in- 
dexes in book form help us to find them, and should 
be consulted at the outset. 



THE JOYS OF KESEAECH 21 

Many States have published their archives, and of 
town and county histories there are not a few. A 
number of important church registers can be con- 
sulted in print, and even the tombstone inscriptions 
have, in some cases, been published. The Eevolu- 
tionary records of most of the States are now accessi- 
ble in printed form, as are many of the valuable pa- 
pers held by historical and genealogical societies. In 
certain libraries can be found a large collection of 
exceedingly valuable genealogical and heraldic works 
covering the countries which contributed the bulk 
of early emigration to the American colonies and 
States — Great Britain, the Netherlands, France, 
and Germany. The publishers of this book have ar- 
ranged a means for placing these and other library 
sources at the service of those who do not have access 
to them, or who have not the time or disposition to 
consult such authorities for themselves. This plan is 
described at the end of the chapter. 

Having learned all that relatives can tell us about 
our family, we are ready to turn to these other 
sources. All systems of gathering information are 
systems of taking notes. Thus the question of proper 
notebooks presents itself. This matter, however, we 
relegate to other chapters, in connection with the 
two plans for genealogical works, for each plan has 
its suitable notebook. But here we simply remark 
that the question is all-important. Upon its solu- 
tion depends our escape from the old task-master, 
Drudgery, who stands ready to burden the pleasure of 



22 CONCEKNING GENEALOGIES 

our pursuit with pains and toil if we do not circum- 
vent him. 

Use plenty of paper, writing on one side only, in a 
plain hand. Write with pen and ink where possible. 
A good fountain pen is a handy friend, though some 
libraries do not permit its use when consulting books. 
In such cases a lead pencil must be employed. We 
prefer a moderately soft one, which makes a heavy 
black mark without tiring the hand by requiring 
much pressure, and we carry several, well sharpened, 
with a fenife to keep them so. 

There is only one right way of making notes, and 
that is to give the full authority for our facts when 
we note the facts themselves. This applies to personal 
information, as well as to that obtained from books 
and documents. Take the case of the information 
obtained from our relatives. Was some of it secured 
by correspondence? If so, the letter itself gives the 
name and address of the informant, together with 
the date. This is as it should be. But if it is not 
certain whether some part of the contents is based 
upon the personal knowledge of the writer, the state- 
ments of another, hearsay, or general tradition, it is 
well to write again and have the source of the in- 
formation clearly established. Only so can we rightly 
judge of its value. If our information was obtained 
in a conversation, the name and address of the in- 
formant should be noted, with the date of the inter- 
view. The foundation of his information should also 
be learned and recorded. 



THE JOYS OF EESEAECH 23 

The moment of first hearing the facts, when the 
joy of discovery and the satisfaction of making 
progress are upon us, is the psychological moment for 
making our notes. It is a positive delight while the 
fever of enthusiasm is high. As our informant be- 
gins his story, let us interrupt with the cry of the 
enthusiast, " I must jot that down ! ^^ Out comes our 
notebook, conveying to our friend a very distinct im- 
pression of the importance of being accurate. He 
collects himself, and proceeds to give his facts and 
traditions with the greatest care. As we stop him 
with questions, or take time to write the facts, his 
memory is stimulated. With skillful questions the 
genealogical worker can draw out all the information, 
taking care to cover every point which may come up 
later. 

In consulting books and documents we generally 
wish to copy in full all important references, and we 
will initiate the reader into a cunning stratagem of 
the old campaigner. We often run across a paper or 
paragraph which we can see at a glance is a " find." 
We do not read it through, but simply skim over it 
to make sure of the portion which we desire, and 
then begin the work — nay, the delightful pastime— 
of copying it. What a pleasure it is, absorbing 
the contents, line by line, as we transfer it to our 
archives ! And there is a bit of solid wisdom in this 
method, for the chance of errors in copying is less 
when the interest is at fever heat than when the work 
is done in a mechanical way. 



24 CONCEENING GENEALOGIES 

Mistakes in copying are further diminished by 
placing a card or sheet of paper above the line which 
we are transcribing,— a device which saves the eyes 
the strain of finding the place on the page every time 
we look up from the notebook. Never fail to accom- 
pany each extract copied into the notebook with the 
authority from which it is taken. If from a book, give 
author, title, date of publication, volume and page. If 
from a public record or document, give volume and 
page, with the office or society, the town or city where 
the original is deposited. Along with extracts from 
books, it is well to note the library where they were 
consulted. We may wish to refer to the books 
again, and are likely to forget in which of the 
libraries we found them. After making an ex- 
tract, compare it with the original, to guard against 
errors in copying. 

The true method of genealogical investigation is 
to follow as far as possible the methods of the lawyer. 
Not, indeed, that genealogical research has anything 
to do with the learned quibbles of a legal dry-bones ! 
Far from it. But the genealogist may well proceed 
as would a lawyer whose case could only be won for 
his client by demonstrating a line of descent. The 
value of the legal method lies in the fact that it pro- 
ceeds, step by step, toward the accumulation of posi- 
tive proofs. If the demonstration of an ancestral 
link depends upon recorded wills, the lawyer will ob- 
tain certified copies of such wills, to be presented in 
court as evidence. If the proof lies in a deed, which 



THE JOYS OF EESEAECH 25 

perhaps demonstrates the relationship of husband and 
wife, or father and son, a certified copy of the deed 
is secured. If the family record be found in a Bible, 
and the book itself cannot be obtained for presenta- 
tion in court, the record is copied and certified, and 
the history of the ownership of the book established 
by personal testimony or affidavits. In the same way 
extracts from church registers and tombstones are 
authenticated before a notary public or justice of the 
peace, and personal testimony is collected in the form 
of affidavits. Then, even if the originals should be 
destroyed, the copies are just as valuable as legal 
proofs. 

Every link of the chain is thus established. The 
lawyer knows that in the attempt to break down his 
case no cunning in cross-examination will be spared, 
no expedient of rebuttal left untried. He gathers the 
testimony of his witnesses, and also collects evidence 
of the credibility of these witnesses. Judge and jury 
will not only hear the testimony, but will form a 
judgment of the reliability of those who give it. 

To all who can afford the extra expense, we 
recommend the literal application of the legal meth- 
od. To apply it to collateral lines would be difficult 
and expensive. But it is the true method of demon- 
strating our direct ancestral lines, and it is especially 
desirable for tbe line from which we have inherited 
our surname. Strictly legal proofs of descent, com- 
petent to establish the genealogy in any court of law 
and to justify its entry as ^^ proved ^^ upon the rec- 



26 CONCERmNG GENEALOGIES 

ords in any European college of heraldry, constitute 
most valuable and interesting family heirlooms. 

While the expense of the legal method may deter 
some from using it, the historical method is within 
the reach of all. It is the legal method minus the 
single feature of official certification. In other words, 
the genealogist's good pen does all the copying, and 
in lieu of official certification, he gives the place, vol- 
ume and page where his evidence is to be found in its 
original form. 

A good many people will have the time to investi- 
gate personally under either of the methods men- 
tioned here. Many others must have the work of 
research done for them; and the Genealogical and 
Biographical Department of The Grafton Press will 
place the best skill and experience in genealogi- 
cal work at the service of any one desiring it. In- 
vestigation will be taken up from the beginning, or at 
any stage, and will be carried to the first American 
ancestor of a line, or continued with a view to estab- 
lishing the European connections. When the serv- 
ice of this department is desired, all facts of one's 
ancestry, so far back as known, should be commu- 
nicated in full. 

In the second place, amateurs and others are 
often in need of practical counsel and a reference to 
authorities based upon a wider knowledge and ex- 
perience than they command. Many beginners, hav- 
ing ascertained the information which relatives can 
give concerning their ancestors, are at a loss as to the 



THE JOYS OF EESEARCH 27 

next step. A mere general statement of the kind of 
authorities usually available, such as we have given 
above, does not meet their need. They desire to be 
in communication with some one to whom they may 
feel that they have a right to apply, and to whom they 
can say, " Such and such is the case : what shall I 
do next? what and where are the authorities which 
will help me ? how shall I get at them ? must I go in 
person, or is there some other way? and what would 
you advise in such and such a case ? ^^ At any stage 
in the investigation perplexing difBculties may arise 
which call for expert counsel, or direction to the 
proper resources. We have given much thought to 
devising a thoroughly practical arrangement which 
will not be burdensome to either party and will af- 
ford full liberty of consultation throughout the 
progress of investigation. Let the difficulties be 
stated by letter. Correspondence is always preferable 
to personal consultation. It gives us time to make 
an investigation, if necessary, in the interest of the 
inquirer, while our reply is also in written form, 
which is more convenient for the worker.* 

Our third form of practical assistance in research 
work is designed to make known the resources of the 
JTew York libraries to those who cannot reach them, 
or who have not the time to become familiar with 
their contents. Taking the sum of its library facili- 

*Any person becomes entitled to the service described above for the 
period of one year, during which applications for advice may be made, by 
remittance of a fee of $25 to The Grafton Press, Genealogical and Bio- 
graphical Department, 70 Fifth Avenue, New York City. 



28 CONCERNING GENEALOGIES 

ties, New York City undoubtedly offers the genealo- 
gist the best opportunity on this continent to consult 
American sources, and is unrivalled in the possession 
of works on the genealogy and heraldry of mediaeval 
and modern Europe. We refer especially to the ge- 
nealogical collections of unusual merit in the custody 
of the New York Public Library (Astor and Lenox 
Branches), Columbia University, the New York His- 
torical Society, the New York Society Library, the 
New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 
the Holland Society and the Long Island Historical 
Society. 

Our plan for placing these resources at the serv- 
ice of inquirers involves, in the first place, a 
search for all the references to a given family, the 
object being to cover everything recognized as bear- 
ing upon the line of descent in which the applicant 
is interested. References, not extracts, will be given ; 
they will show the character of the data found and give 
the author, title, date, volume and page of the book 
containing it and the library. When these references 
have been sent to the applicant, he can consult the 
authorities for himself, or may arrange for the copy- 
ing of any items desired, their translation, if they 
are in a foreign language, or for the making of 
abstracts.* 

* A fee of $10 entitles one to the above service — that is, to a report, by 
the Genealogical and Biographical Department of The Grafton Press, on 
the references to a single family line in the New York libraries. Addi- 
tional arrangements can be made for copying, etc. One fee covers the 
search under a single surname only. 



Ill 

COMPILING 

We will suppose that at last the task of investiga- 
tion has come to an end. We have run our family lines 
back as far as our plan contemplated, or as far as we 
were able to do with a reasonable amount of research. 
Perhaps most of them go back to the original emi- 
grants, but it may be that in a case or two we have 
had the good fortune to make connection with an 
old family stem in Europe. In any case, the work 
is now done. We have made our discoveries, and 
scored triumphs not a few. But though the excite- 
ment of the chase is over, its pleasures are by no 
means spent. Is there no story to tell, no tale of our 
difficulties and exploits ? Next to the exhilaration of 
the hunt itself, what can compare with the mellow 
joy of going over it with a comrade! Least of all 
can the '' inevitable narrative '^ be spared in a case of 
ancestry-hunting. It is the logical issue of the 
search, and failure to weave our facts into a readable 
story, after having collected them, is almost unthink- 
able. 

Having piloted the reader safely hitherto, we must 
now faithfully warn against pernicious ways, even 
though it should involve criticism of many of the 
genealogical books which have appeared in print. 
The truth is that in the great majority of such works 
we look in vain for the proofs of the statements made. 



30 CONCEENING GENEALOGIES 

Authorities are not given and we do not find system- 
atic footnotes, nor even ordinary citations of author- 
ities in the text. We have nothing better than our 
own guess to enable us to decide whether the compiler 
is giving us the fruit of original research, an extract 
from another compilation, unsupported tradition, or 
a mere conjecture. 

This is most unfortunate, for a genealogical chain 
is no stronger than its weakest link. Suppose that 
we have tested one of the statements in such a book 
by our own original investigations and find it to be 
erroneous. How can we feel sure that the next state- 
ment may not be equally unreliable ? The whole book 
therefore becomes discredited in our eyes. With 
genealogists everywhere at work, the errors in such 
volumes are bound to be discovered, and made public. 

Any degree of confidence which we can allow our- 
selves in such cases depends upon the reputation of 
the compiler. But no man is infallible, and how can 
we know that the author's methods were such as to 
reduce his errors to a minimum ? It may be that our 
own family line has been treated in such a book, 
that we have personal knowledge of the compiler, and 
are well satisfied as to his carefulness and accuracy. 
But can we expect others to have this same faith? 
How are they to be convinced that our family history 
is correctly given in a book of mere assertions, backed 
up by no display of authority ? 

Can a genealogist claim to be exempt from condi- 
tions which the greatest historians impose upon 



COMPILING 31 

themselves ? Does a Gibbons^ Macaulay^ Guizot, Mot- 
ley, Prescott or Bancroft expect to withhold the 
sources of his information and ask to be taken on 
faith? By giving the authorities for his statements, 
he proves instead that he has made proper researches, 
that his work is faithful, and that he can be trusted 
to draw judicious conclusions. We appreciate the 
great labor involved in compiling an authoritative 
work and understand the temptation to compile a 
book of mere assertions. But we see no honest es- 
cape from the obligation to give authorities, nor is 
escape desirable. For it is a sad fact that some, who 
support themselves by means of genealogical investi- 
gation, manifest no great anxiety to do honest work. 
They are careless in gathering their facts, and their 
pretence of having surveyed a field is no assurance 
that desirable data have not been overlooked or wil- 
fully neglected. In compiling, they are equally slip- 
shod. Their work is always set forth in the unau- 
thoritative manner here condemned, and it is most 
desirable that others should protect themselves from 
the outward appearance of a like carelessness by giv- 
ing their authorities. 

The extra work which the giving of authorities is 
supposed to entail is more fanciful than real. The 
failure to jot down the authority with each note made 
in our notebook, to remind us of the actual value of 
each item and to direct us where to go for its context 
or for reinspection, is probably a much more substan- 
tial cause of extra work. And there is no diflSculty in 



32 CONCEKNING GENEALOGIES 

giving our authorities in the manuscript prepared 
for the press if this work of previous investigation 
has been properly done. We can appreciate the terror 
of the situation for one who has failed to note his au- 
thorities as he transcribed his extracts. After com- 
piling his manuscript from his notes, must he go over 
the whole territory covered by his research in order 
to gather up the missing authorities? Unless he is 
of heroic mould, he will probably refuse to do so in 
despair ! 

Thus the reader can perceive the full importance 
of doing the work of investigation properly, as in- 
sisted upon in the preceding chapter. If he has done 
so, there is no difficulty in compiling an authoritative 
work. His note and the authority for it stand side 
by side, and as he uses the one he can instantly set 
down the other. 

We have spoken of the legal method of investiga- 
tion, and said that the genealogical investigator is 
like the lawyer who is getting his evidence together. 
But this having been done, there remains the prepar- 
ation of the case for its presentation to the court. 
The work of the genealogical compiler corresponds 
to this. As the lawyer^s brief compels the favorable 
decision of the judge, or as the logical presentation 
of the case convinces the jury, so should the argu- 
ment of the compiler of family lineage convince the 
court of public opinion. His should be an historical 
document which carries its evidence upon its face. 
But if his method has been careless either in research 



COMPILING 33 

or presentation, the cross-examination of historical 
criticism is sure to tear the case to pieces. Although 
a temporary decision may be given in his favor, an- 
other investigator will eventually arise and question 
some of his unsupported statements. The whole case 
will thus be appealed, and a new investigation be 
called for. 

It is perfectly true that a strictly legal method 
cannot be carried out in the printed volume. Original 
documents can be readily presented to an ordinary 
judge and jury and by them be carefully inspected. 
But when we present our case from the printed page, 
the whole world is the court, our readers the jury, 
and the printed volume itself both witness and advo- 
cate. The original documents, though we may have 
them in our possession, cannot be placed in the hands 
of every reader of a book. Therefore in compiling 
for publication, the historical method takes the place 
of a strictly legal presentation of the case. This 
method, as we have already seen, simply leaves out 
the feature of affidavits and certified documents, and 
substitutes that of references to the original authori- 
ties. It is the legal method adjusted to the conditions 
of publication. 

The reward which flows from this method is easily 
seen. We cannot hope that our book will be flawless. 
Mistakes will occur, and it may transpire that some of 
our witnesses were misinformed. But what of this? 
If we have followed the historical method, the point- 
ing out of an error in no wise invalidates our book. 



34 CONCEKNING GENEALOGIES 

One witness out of the hundreds we have called may 
be impeached, but this only affects the single aspect 
of the case which rested on the testimony of that wit- 
ness. The rest of the testimony stands unimpaired. 

On the other hand, the historical method involves 
no undue severity in the character of our book. It 
need not be stiff and solemn and pedantic. If we 
are gifted with a sprightly style, let us make the most 
of it. If we see a humorous side of things, let us 
entertain the reader with it. Even though one of 
our venerable forebears be the subject of the joke we 
need not hesitate. Could we appeal to him, undoubt- 
edly he would smile with the rest and urge us to go 
ahead and make the book as bright and lively as pos- 
sible. 

If we have collected portraits, photographs of old 
homesteads, tombstones and churches where our an- 
cestors worshipped, ancient documents and other 
heirlooms, these should be inserted or referred to in 
the proper places in the manuscript prepared for the 
printer. A genealogical work embellished with illus- 
trations has its attractiveness increased many fold, 
and much can be accomplished in this direction with- 
out incurring a very great expense. 

A truly interesting genealogical work is not a dry 
compilation of family statistics, but contains striking 
biographical pen pictures. Let these be made as com- 
plete as possible, and the story told with all the in- 
terest we can throw into it. We believe that the ideal 
genealogy is yet to be written, and that it will pre- 



I 



COMPILING 35 

sent facts with the accuracy of a Bancroft, but clothe 
them with the charm of an Irving. What possibili- 
ties there are, and all in connection with a work which 
will hand down our name, wreathed with the memo- 
ries of our ancestors, in a common halo of glory ! 

In view of what has been said it will be suspected 
that we do not look with much favor upon statistical 
tomes, with their hieroglyphic abbreviations, discon- 
nected phrases, and other contortions of condensation. 
This is certainly true. We would abolish all abbre- 
viations in genealogical works if we could, and would 
have the story told in sentences framed in our mother 
tongue. We would have the book excellent in matter, 
pleasing in style and attractive to the eye. 

In closing this chapter we may add that the service 
of the Genealogical and Biographical Department 
of The Grafton Press is intended to cover every 
phase of genealogical compilation as well as of 
genealogical research. The entire work will be 
undertaken— both the investigation of the family 
lines and the preparation of the manuscript for the 
press, or the data accumulated by others will be com- 
piled. Manuscript which has been arranged but is 
not satisfactory will be rearranged and edited, or en- 
tirely rewritten, as desired.* 

In the chapters which immediately follow, the sub- 
ject of '^ compiling ^^ is continued in connection with 
the two forms into which a genealogical work may be 

♦Address, on this subject, The Grafton Press, Genealogical and Bio- 
graphical Department, 70 Fifth Avenue, New York City. Estimates will 
be given on data or manuscripts submitted. 



36 CONCERNING GENEALOGIES 

cast. As we shall see, these forms are fundamental- 
ly so different in plan that the reader must make his 
choice between them at the outset. The great point 
before us in the present chapter is that of compiling 
so as to make an authoritative work. 



IV 

THE ^^CLAN'^ GENEALOGY 

Our chapter heading is simply a re-christening of 
the oldest and hitherto the favorite plan of the Amer- 
ican genealogist. We might rather call it the Ameri- 
can genealogy, for nearly all the genealogical works, 
which have seen the light, are of this kind. 

The plan of most of the existing works is distinctly 
that of the exhibition of a genealogical tribe or clan. 
Its purpose is to assemble in one book all the known 
descendants of a certain ancestor, or only the male 
descendants who are bearers of the family surname. 
The head of the clan is generally the first American 
emigrant, and his family becomes ^^ Family 1 ^^ of the 
book. " Family 2 ^^ will depend upon our choice of 
one of two modifications of the general plan. 

Let us suppose that the head of the clan is John 
Smith, and that he had three children, Mary, John, 
and Philip, all of whom had families. If our pur- 
pose is to exhibit the entire clan, we will make no 
difference between daughters who marry and give 
their children the surnames of their husbands, and 
sons who give their children the surname of the head 
of the clan. In that case, the family of John Smith 
being Family 1, that of his oldest child, Mary, will 
be Family 2, while the families of John and Philip 
will be 3 and 4 respectively. In the third generation 
we will go back to Mary's oldest child, who left de- 



38 CONCEKNING GENEALOGIES 

scendants, who will become the head of Family 5, fol- 
lowed by her other children, who had families, in the 
order of birth. The children of John will next be 
given in order of birth, followed by those of Philip, 
all who had children being treated as heads of fami- 
lies to which a family number is assigned. 

But the work of accounting for all the descendants 
becomes so irksome, in the case of fertile families, 
which have to be carried through a number of genera- 
tions, that it is the prevailing custom to shirk the re- 
sponsibility of this full exhibit. Thus, only the fami- 
lies of sons, and son^s sons, are carried down from 
generation to generation. The daughters, if their 
descendants bear other surnames, are set aside, al- 
though the blood-tie is the same. The tribe itself is 
not exhibited, but only that part which bears the sur- 
name of the common ancestor. This is the modifica- 
tion adopted by the most eminent genealogists. 

All forms of the '^ clan '^ genealogy unite collateral 
lines of descent by the sentimental bond of a thin 
blood-tie, affording an excellent basis for " family re- 
unions.^^ But they are quite unsatisfactory as at- 
tempts to exhibit one's ancestry. If we are included 
in such a book, '' The Smith Family,'' for example, 
we generally find but one of our many ancestral lines 
traced. And even if one or two of our Smith progen- 
itors married cousins of the same name, only two or 
three of the Smith lines will lead down to ourselves. 

Such an arrangement does not go far toward show- 
ing one's ancestry. Not a few Americans are in the 



THE "CLAN^^ GENEALOGY 39 

tenth generation from their earliest forefathers on this 
side of the water. Hundreds of thousands are in the 
seventh, eighth or ninth generation. Let us reckon 
the number of our progenitors for ten generations. 
We had 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great-grand- 
parents, 16 great-great-grandparents, 33 ancestors of 
the sixth generation, 64 of the seventh, 128 of the 
eighth, 256 of the ninth, and 512 of the tenth genera- 
tion. 

The number of ancestors for ten generations is 
thus 1,022. The different surnames represented 
among them may be as many as the number of an- 
^jstors of the earliest generation— i.e., 128 for eight 
generations, 256 for nine, and 512 for ten genera- 
tions. The actual number is frequently lessened by 
the marriage of ancestors who bear the same sur- 
name. But the general significance of the numerical 
argument remains. 

Are we a descendant of the first John Smith, in the 
tenth generation and through a single line? Then 
the book on " The Smith Family '' will only show 18 
of our 1,022 ancestors, assuming that the wife of 
each of our ancestral Smiths is mentioned. If the 
wives are omitted, only 9 ancestors will be shown. 
And in the latter case the book shows our link with 
but one family and surname out of a possible 512. 
Or, if the book gives the maiden names of the wives 
of our nine ancestral Smiths, nine other family sur- 
names out of the 512 will receive a bare mention. 
But none of these lines will be traced. 



40 CONCEKmNG GENEALOGIES 

The reader will now fully appreciate our reference 
to this kind of book as the " clan '^ genealogy. It shows 
the relationships, most of them quite distant, between 
the collateral branches of a single tribe; but it does 
not exhibit the many lines of one'g ancestry. The 
kind of book which accomplishes the latter object will 
come before us in the next chapter. 

Nevertheless, the ^^clan^^ genealogy has its place. 
The recognition of tribal relations has become popu- 
lar, and family organizations, with the occasional 
function of a " family re-union,^^ are rapidly increas- 
ing. Many of these organizations, embracing all the 
known descendants of a common ancestor, elect regu- 
lar officers, and in a few cases the whole tribe has a 
legal status as a corporation. 

The tribal genealogy is also favored by many who 
hope to make a profit by the sale of their book. A 
fair-sized tribe is considered a promising field for 
such an enterprise. Among several thousand clans- 
men a considerable number, it is assumed, will pur- 
chase a copy of a book which traces one of their an- 
cestral lines. When the project is well managed and 
the book properly exploited this hope is often realized 
very handsomely. 

The " clan ^^ genealogy also finds a prominent place 
in local history. The annals of a town or neighbor- 
hood having been given, these are supplemented by 
monographs on the old families. Beginning with the 
first settler, his descendants are traced down, each 
family sketch becoming a ^^clan'^ genealogy on a small 



THE ^^CLAN^^ GENEALOGY 41 

scale. This feature immensely increases the interest 
of town histories, and if the tribal genealogy needs 
any justification, it certainly finds it here. 

Finally, there is the undoubted fact stated at the 
beginning of our chapter, that the '' clan ^^ genealogy 
has pre-empted the field. It is the work everywhere 
met, the book which is in every mind when a geneal- 
ogy is thought of. 

Special difficulties attend the compiling of this 
kind of work, and for the overcoming of these we 
have prepared a special notebook. 

It should be remembered that if, instead of count- 
ing one man's ancestors, we should reckon one man's 
descendants, assuming an average, in each family, of 
three children who become parents, in nine genera- 
tions some 9,841 descendants would have become 
parents, each with a wife or husband, making a total 
of 19,682 to appear in the tribal book, without count- 
ing descendants that leave no issue! 

After the ninth generation the tribe grows with 
leaps and bounds that are truly mighty. A single 
additional generation, the tenth, would add a new 
crop of no less than 39,366 husbands and wives, mak- 
ing a total of 59,048 tribesmen entitled to a place in 
the book ! And the eleventh generation— but peace ! 
Our little work on the joys of genealogical research 
shall not be marred by the statistical bore who tries to 
scare with his wretched arithmetic! 

In truth, formidable as the ^^clan'' genealogy some- 
times is, at present it seldom takes in ten generations. 



42 CONGEKNING GENEALOGIES 

while our estimate of family increase is perhaps too 
great. And what genealogist^ though he beg and 
implore information of the later generations, send- 
ing out hundreds of eloquent letters, is ever able to 
make a complete exhibit of a great tribe? Our fig- 
ures should not terrify, therefore, but simply com- 
pel proper appreciation of the problem of the note- 
book. 

How shall the data for a whole tribe be preserved 
until the day of compilation, and how can we keep it 
from becoming a jumbled miscellany that will drive 
us to despair? 

The terror of the notebooks first dawned upon us 
just as we thought we had the matter well in hand. 
It was our first extensive investigation, and as the 
ancestral names increased on our research list we 
found that we must make a choice of methods. Should 
we search the authorities for one name at a time? 
Many advise this to avoid confusion, on the principle 
of choosing the lesser of two evils. 

But it is a clumsy method, well nigh intolerable, 
which leads one to visit certain places and consult 
certain authorities for data on one name, and then 
return over pretty much the same ground for the 
second, the third, and all other names on a long list. 
We rejected the thought of such a system, determin- 
ing that as each authority came into our hands we 
would extract whatever it contained on any of our 
names. 

This settled, another question presented itself. 



THE ^^CLAN" GENEALOGY 43 

Should we carry a separate notebook for every name 
investigated? Our list of names was so formidable 
that such an expedient threatened to transform the 
genealogist into a genealogical packhorse. Hence we 
preferred to carry a book or two at a time, to which 
we committed all our discoveries. Previous historical 
training had taught us to note the authority with 
each item, and we made rapid progress with the work. 
When one notebook was full, another took its place. 
What could be more simple and expeditious? 

But the day came when we sat down to compile. 
Alas ! our sins had found us out ! A stack of note- 
books lay before us, and through them all were scat- 
tered our data for each name, without system or 
chronological order. Oh, the despair of going through 
that pile of books, turning down pages and number- 
ing items according to dates, in a desperate attempt to 
arrange the material for each name so as to compile 
the facts in a decent order! 

In spite of all our care, the wretched books con- 
cealed desirable items until our manuscript had 
passed the proper place of insertion, sardonically call- 
ing our attention to the omissions when we were 
busy with another subject. How we grew to hate 
those notebooks, and how they tormented us with a 
plague of re-writing! We had a premonition that 
they would conceal some things to the very last ; and, 
sure enough, having tortured us during the days of 
writing, humiliated us in the proof-sheets, and de- 
manded a display of errata as the book went to press, 



44 CONCERmNG GENEALOGIES 

they waited until it was nicely printed, bound and 
published before making their final disclosures! 

To obviate all this trouble, we now have the Graf- 
ton Genealogical Notebook, American Form. As the 
last twO' words indicate, this notebook embodies 
the arrangement of the " clan ^^ genealogy used by 
the most eminent American genealogists and adopted 
by such organizations as the New England Historic- 
Genealogical Society and the New York Genealogical 
and Biographical Society. 

This notebook consists of a succession of groups of 
pages, each group arranged with blanks to receive the 
data for a whole family. The facts are written in 
their proper spaces when first ascertained, and when 
the work of research is finished it will be found 
that the work of compilation has taken care of itself ! 
In fact, the notebook is self-compiling. The blank 
spaces are arranged in the order of the statements 
as they are to appear on the printed page, the connect- 
ing words and proper punctuation being printed in 
the notebook. Having filled in all the spaces which 
our data requires, we simply draw a pen through the 
rest, and our book is practically compiled, for its own 
leaves may be sent to the printer as manuscript ! The 
leaves are perforated so that they may be readily 
detached, and thus we are saved the labor and the 
possible errors of recopying. 

For example, having written our introductory mat- 
ter, we detach the leaves from our notebooks, group by 
group, beginning with the family of the common an- 



THE "CLAN" GENEALOGY 45 

cestor, followed by that of his oldest child, who had 
issue, and so on through all the families and genera- 
tions in order. In this order, we consecutively num- 
ber the leaves in blank spaces provided for that pur- 
pose, and if the " family " and " individual " numbers 
have not already been assigned, we note them in the 
proper spaces. 

We may add that this notebook is equally well 
adapted for tracing all of the descendants of an an- 
cestor, or those of the sons alone. Its use will be un- 
derstood at a glance by experienced genealogists. De- 
tailed instructions, however, with sample blanks filled 
out, have been prepared for those desiring them. 
These instructions completely initiate the amateur 
into the details of the best form of " clan " gene- 
alogy.* 

*The Grafton Genealogical Notebook, American Form (copyrighted), 
can be had of The Grafton Press, Genealogical and Biographical Depart- 
ment, 70 Fifth Avenue, New York City. Price, per copy, 25 cents ; 12 copies 
for $2.50. The book is 5 1-4 inches wide by 8 1-2 long, and can be carried 
in the pocket. Th«iJ instruction pamphlet will be sent to any address upon 
receipt of 25 cents. It is furnished free, when requested^ to every purchaser 
of 12 copies of the notebook. 



V 

THE ^^GKAFTON^^ GENEALOGY 

Under this name we introduce a plan of genealo- 
gy which we believe is destined to become more pop- 
ular than the clan genealogy. This is the book for all 
who are interested in their own ancestral lines more 
than in the ramifications of a thinly-connected tribe. 

It is the plan which permits a full discourse of all 
that is nearest to the heart. Its preliminary investi- 
gations thrill one with discoveries of the deepest per- 
sonal interest. Its compilation permits all the hu- 
mors and liberties of literary speech. Its every page 
and chapter is like a visit to ancestral halls, where 
the genial shades of forebears seem to gather round 
as we gaze at their portraits, listen to the old tales, 
handle the heirlooms and ransack the family papers. 

The general idea of this genealogy is simple. It 
enables one to exhibit as many of one^s direct ances- 
tral lines as can be ascertained, or a suflScient number 
to make an interesting volume. 

Where do we begin ? With ourselves, James Smith ! 
Next we put down the name of our father, William 
Smith, and the maiden name of our mother, Mary 
Jones, and under each name collect all the biographi- 
cal data possible. In the next generation there are 
four names. There is our paternal grandparent, Wil- 
liam Smith, Sr., still hale and hearty, and his wife, 
Mary Doe, of sainted memory, whom we remember 



; 



THE "GEAFTON^^ GENEALOGY 47 

almost as well as we do the fragrant odor of her in- 
imitable pies and cake! 

Then there is our maternal grandfather. Colonel 
Henry Jones, a soldier and a gentleman if there ever 
was one, and his young wife, Mary Summers, whom 
we never saw because she yielded her sweet life in 
the throes which brought our mother into the world. 
Have we not often mused over that dear face, gentle 
and beautiful in the old daguerreotype! Many a 
tear have we shed over her sad story— in the senti- 
mental days, before the callous cares of this world^s 
business crept into our heart! 

The names of all these we put down, gathering the 
materials for full biographies, and thus we continue 
with our eight great-grandparents, our sixteen great- 
great-grandparents, our thirty-two great-great-greats, 
and so on until we have unraveled the glories of the 
entire ten generations (if we can boast so many in 
America), with their 1,023 ancestors and 513 sur- 
names. 

The reader may ask, '^ Is this not as bad as a ^ clan ^ 
genealogy? How shall we manage all these names 
and the reams of data ? ^^ 

The fact is, however, that he who can boast him- 
self to be in the tenth generation in even a single 
line is fortunate, and must have had an American 
ancestor contemporary with the Jamestown gentle- 
men or the Mayflower pilgrims. Undoubtedly many 
of our lines go back on this side of the Atlantic only 
four, five or six generations. Such cases subtract 



48 CONCEKNING GENEALOGIES 

materially from our 1,022 possible ancestors and 512 
surnames. 

And let us suppose that when the Dutch stem of 
Schermerhorn and the French stem of de Lancey 
come into view in our family tree, we find Joneses 
again, and — yes, a little research proves that these 
Joneses also descended from the emigrant, Stephen 
Jones, the ancestor of our maternal grandfather. 
Colonel William Jones. The Jones stock is a fine 
brand, and three strains are none too many, but their 
appearance subtracts two more surnames from the 
theoretical number. 

Furthermore, while we may be able to find our 
way back from generation to generation with almost 
ridiculous ease in some cases, such luck is usually too 
good to last. It is a rare vein which yields family 
connections at every stroke of the genealogical spade, 
and one such line may have to console us for a num- 
ber which we mine slowly and painfully, and for 
some others which yield no results whatever beyond a 
certain point. In truth, most old American families 
pan out fairly well, with here and there a golden 
nugget of peculiar lustre, or a diamond of the first 
water; but we are seldom troubled by finding more 
of this wealth than we are able to handle. 

In making the investigation, we should aim to col- 
lect data for a very full account of each ancestor, with 
a portrait, autograph, the history of his possessions, 
photograph of the homestead, his old letters, his Bible 
and will — in fact, any and all materials which picture 



THE " GRAFTON ^^ GENEALOGY 49 

clearly his character and affairs. When we have fin- 
ished collectings our accumulations are worked up 
into monographs on each one of the lines traced, each 
monograph enriched by illustrations and accom- 
panied by an appendix in which we exhibit in full 
the documents and extracts constituting the proofs of 
the descent. We recommend that each monograph 
be introduced by a chart, exhibiting the pedigree 
from the earliest known progenitor down to the per- 
son whose ancestry is the subject of the book. This 
adds a valuable feature, and makes the whole line 
clear at a glance. After all the monographs are com- 
pleted, they should be arranged together for pub- 
lication in one volume. 

If expense is not much of an object, it is especially 
interesting to prepare for one^s own library one copy 
of the edition printed, sumptuously bound and en- 
riched with original documents, or certified copies of 
them,— old prints, silhouette portraits and other illus- 
trations gathered solely for that copy. In fact, some 
people may prefer to limit the edition to this one 
copy. These ideas may be followed in the Grafton 
plan of genealogy with brilliant results. A proper 
method of research, with the necessary means at its 
disposal, should re"sult in the accumulation of an 
abundance of interesting illustrative matter for such 
a book. 

The Grafton plan of work calls for a notebook in 
which the display of the genealogical statistics of a 
family takes a subordinate place. What is wanted is 



50 CONCEKmNG GENEALOGIES 

a notebook in which an indefinite number of pages 
may be devoted to the data of each ancestor, with 
some index system which will make all instantly ac- 
cessible, and some ready means of rearranging the 
pages. These ends are achieved by a notebook 
equipped with the Grafton Chart Index, which is 
quite different from the notebook mentioned in the 
last chapter. 

The Chart Index affords a diagrammatic display 
of one's ancestry for ten generations— spaces for 
writing in the names of every one of our 1,022 theo- 
retically possible ancestors, each in his proper place. 
Each name is located by a Koman numeral, indicat- 
ing the generation to which it belongs, and by an 
Arabic figure, indicating its place in that generation. 
With each name also appears a blank space in brack- 
ets, to receive the number of the page of the note- 
book where the data of that name begins. And at the 
top of this page in the notebook are written the gen- 
eration and place numbers of the name in the dia- 
gram. 

Do we wish to know where to look for the data 
bearing upon a certain person? We glance at his 
place in the chart and there find the page reference 
to his place in the notebook. Or, with our notebook 
open at a certain place, do we wish to know the an- 
cestral connections of the individual there treated? 
We glance at the numerals which head his data, and 
thus learn his place in the chart, which displays at a 



THE ^^ GRAFTON ^^ GENEALOGY 51 

glance his relations to all the lines and other indi- 
viduals of our entire ancestry, so far as determined. 
The body of the notebook is detachable from the cover 
and chart-index. When its pages are full, another 
section may be attached, which becomes Section B 
of one great notebook, this process being repeated as 
often as desired, the one index covering the whole. 
If the data on John Smith begins on page 50 of the 
first section, the page reference in the chart will be 
A50, or simply 50. If it begins on the same page 
of the next section, the reference will be to B50, and 
so on. 

The leaves of the notebook are perforated and 
easily detachable. When the work of investigation 
is complete, or at any time in the process, the data 
can be rearranged in any order desired. When the 
data for one complete line has been gathered, we may 
wish to arrange it in the order of descent and begin 
the delightful task of working it up for the printer 
while other lines are still being investigated. 

The Chart Index may be obtained separately. It 
can be used simply as a chart, to exhibit one's entire 
ancestry, or may be adjusted as an index to some 
system of notebooks which the reader already has in 
hand.* 



* The chart-index and cover (copyrighted), with notebook, can be had for 
$1.25; 12 copies for $13. Additional sections of the notebook, 25 cents 
each; 12 copies for $2.50. The chart-index alone, 50 cents per copy; 12 
copies for $5.50. Address, The Grafton Press, Genealogical and Biographi- 
cal Department, 70 Fifth Avenue, New York City. 



52 CONCERNING GENEALOGIES 

The notebook referred to in our last chapter may 
be used to advantage in conjunction with the one 
just described. 

For example, John Smith, the first of one of our 
lines, may have had eight children. While the 
" Grafton '^ genealogy will dwell at length only upon 
that one of the children who is our ancestor,— Ste- 
phen Smith, for example, — his seven brothers and 
sisters will be briefly noticed, although their descend- 
ants will not be followed unless it be to call attention 
to distinguished relatives in some of these collateral 
lines. Having given the history of the first John 
Smith in full, we append a condensed account of all 
his children, other than the one who is our ancestor, 
after which we take up the latter, Stephen Smith, in 
full. The notebook devised for the " clan ^' genealogy 
will serve admirably for collecting the skeleton of 
facts desired for these notices of the brothers and 
sisters of our ancestors. 

The research necessary for a " Grafton ^^ genealogy 
sounds every note in the gamut of joys peculiar to 
ancestry-hunting, and adds a special appeal to those 
who wish to join one of the patriotic societies. If 
the line of our surname fails to yield ancestors who 
had the foresight to qualify us for membership in a 
given organization, it may be that another line will 
give better results. Or if our name is already on the 
roll, it will be pleasant to be numbered among those 
who have qualified through more than one ancestor. 
Who knows what riches lie hidden, patiently await- 



THE ^^GEAFTON^' GENEALOGY 53 

ing a discoverer, to reward him who systematically 
carries back all of his family lines? 

The " Grafton ^^ genealogy recommends itself to ns, 
even if one of our lines has already appeared in a 
'^ clan ^^ genealogy, and that line the one through 
which we inherit our surname. In Europe, where 
titles and property are inherited by male children, 
under the laws of entail and primogeniture, a legal 
significance attaches to the line of the surname, and 
to most Americans this line is of special interest. 
Nevertheless, it often happens that our ancestry along 
this line is less brilliant than along some of the other 
lines. In that case we will not do full justice to our 
surname until we reveal the glory of the sturdy stocks 
which our ancestors had the good sense to engraft 
upon our line by marriage. 

Our line may appear in its due place in the great 
tome of the clan, but does it shine with the splendor 
worthy of our immediate ancestors? Is it not al- 
most hidden from sight among so many other lines? 
And when we find it, is there anything more than a 
concise epitome of dry facts under the name of each 
ancestor ? 

No doubt the tribe-embracing plan prohibits all 
else, but is this all we want ? Do we not desire a full 
history of each ancestor, with all the interesting facts, 
traditions and illustrations which can be brought to- 
gether? Then let us set to work to gather these, and 
to make our own line the subject of the first mono- 
graph of a Grafton genealogy, which will show all 



54 CONCEKNma GENEALOGIES 

the luxuriant branches of our particular family tree, 
a happy intertwining of many stocks and surnames, 
of which we are the final product. Those who work 
in the hope of realizing a profit from the sales of the 
printed book should consider the possibilities of the 
Grafton genealogy. What gives interest to a genealo- 
gy? Not the later generations, but the earlier stems 
and origin of the tree, ascertained through historical 
research. Instead of presenting one such stem and 
appealing to a single tribe, why not exploit all the 
stems of one's ancestry and appeal to as many great 
tribes of descendants? The prospect certainly seems 
as favorable for marketing a genealogy which sets 
forth researches on the origins of many American 
stems as for the other kind, which only interests de- 
scendants of a single stem. But whether the finished 
work embodies the ^^clan'^ or the ^^ Graf ton'' plan, its 
sale will principally depend upon the application of 
proper methods in getting the book before the public. 
This subject will come before us a little farther on. 

We add a word on our right to assume the role of 
godfather toward the plan of genealogy discussed in 
this chapter. We claim no patent-rights over the 
bare idea of a work which traces more ancestral lines 
than one. But where, outside of these pages, will the 
reader find a recognition of the possibilities of such 
a work? Where else will he find its plan developed 
and presented so that its advantages may at once be 
seen by the ancestry-hunter? The rights of occu- 
pation and colonization are certainly ours, although 



THE ^^GEAFTON'^ GENEALOGY 55 

we exercise them with a royal largeness of heart ! We 
have developed this rich territory, only to throw it 
open to the world. Having ourselves cultivated its 
fertile fields with pleasing results, and transformed a 
barren wilderness into a blossoming garden, we now 
invite our friend, the reader, to step in and take full 
possession ! 



VI 

THE FEINTING 

Whether the offspring of our love and labor be a 
clan or a Grafton genealogy, we will now suppose it 
has attained its maturity. It will grow no more. 
Not alone is the research complete, but our data has 
been compiled into a book in manuscript form. What 
next? 

We sincerely trust that no genealogical worker who 
reads these lines has any other thought than that of 
giving the fruit of his labors to the public. The 
whole genealogical world protests against any other 
idea. It is a patriotic duty as well as a moral obli- 
gation to put it in print. Having ourselves profited 
from the printed pages of many a worker, shall we 
refuse to repay the debt? 

We hope better things of every reader of this book, 
and assume that all his researches are to appear in 
print as soon as they can be put into proper shape. 
It matters not whether we have much or little, one 
page or a thousand, enough copy for a chart, a pam- 
phlet or a volume: it should be printed and pub- 
lished. If we have worked out only a single ances- 
tral line, and have no leisure for further work, or 
must turn away from such labor for some time to 
come, let us print what we have collected. 

If we commit our manuscript to type, we are quite 
likely to receive a rich reward. Some one sees our 



THE PRINTING 57 

production, gets into communication with us,— being 
interested along the same lines, — and very soon we 
find ourselves learning things we long desired to 
know! Hundreds can tell of such experiences. 

Do not hesitate to print because your work is frag- 
mentary or incomplete. Sometimes one strikes a ge- 
nealogical " snag/^ and, do what he may, is unable 
to proceed in the work of investigation. Under these 
circumstances some genealogists become discouraged, 
holding back their entire work for years in the hope 
of solving their perplexities. This is the wrong way. 
It is much better to print the work in its incomplete 
form, frankly setting forth the difficulties encoun- 
tered. This has many times resulted in the solution 
of the problem. Some one, somewhere, may hold the 
key, and as soon as our printed page catches his eye 
he will supply the needed link. 

Sometimes two genealogists, unknown to each 
other, are at work on intersecting lines, which cause 
them the greatest perplexity, while each has in his 
hands the precise facts which would solve the other^s 
puzzle. In this situation they may grope on for 
years without making material progress. If they 
would only print what they have completed, each 
would discover the complement of his work in the 
other, and each could then go on with his task re- 
joicing. 

Printing in itself is another reward. The exultant 
thrill of actual authorship is only felt when we 
see our work in black and white on the pages of the 



58 CONCEENIJS^G GENEALOGIES 

printed volume. This is the true goal of literary 
desire. 

But this leads us to warn all that only correct and 
tasteful printing produces this result. Poor type, 
incompetent proof-reading and inferior presswork 
produce that which will be a perpetual eyesore and 
humiliation. When we have come to the point of 
printing, we cannot afford to practice an undue econ- 
omy. It is not even "' good business ^^ to do so. People 
do not like to add inferior specimens of book-making 
to their libraries, and every publisher knows that the 
quality of the printing may turn the balance and 
make or mar the success of a book. 

Peculiar difficulties attend the printing of genealo- 
gies because of their charts, names and dates. We 
must have exact work as well as tasteful work, and 
neither of these things is found everywhere, while 
still less frequently are they found in combination. 

In the first place, we would say, put your manu- 
script in the hands of careful and responsible parties. 
It is your treasure, and you cannot afford to entrust 
it to those who will not provide a safe place for it, 
and guard and watch over it from beginning to end. 

In the second place, choose a printer who is ac- 
customed to genealogical work. This is always pref- 
erable. Only thus can we obtain the facilities and 
the experience our book deserves. When the manu- 
script is in the hands of printers untrained to the 
peculiar kind of work needed, one of two results gen- 
erally follows. The book is inaccurate in matter and 



THE PKINTING 59 

slovenly in appearance^ or we may have to insist that 
much of the work be done over. A printer often 
trains himself at our expense, his bill piling up far 
above his estimate, while the book comes forth at last 
with an unmistakably amateurish touch everywhere 
apparent. 

But it is not sufficient to choose a printer accus- 
tomed to genealogies. We know of some who have 
done this kind of work for many years, yet scarcely 
ever have done it well. Their books are many, but in 
wretched taste, some of the volumes being a disgrace 
to the book-maker's art. Genealogy is worthy of bet- 
ter things! 

Choose a printer and publisher who has taste and 
enthusiasm, who is unwilling to resort to cheap ma- 
terial, ordinary type, and careless labor for the sake 
of a wider margin of profit on his contract. It is not 
difficult to select the right man. Examine samples of 
his book-work, and see if all are attractive, the lowest- 
priced as well as the expensive editions. If he is 
the right man, a touch of taste and excellence will 
appear in all his work. 

Ascertain, if possible, the character of proof-read- 
ing you will receive. The author, of course, will read 
his own proofs, but even if he is an experienced 
writer, and has carried several books through the 
press, he will be saved many a mistake by good proof- 
reading. It is a peculiar fact that a mistake which 
our own eye has once passed over in the manuscript 
is likely to escape our notice many times. But the 



60 CONCERNING GENEALOGIES 

fresh eye of an expert proof-reader, versed in gene- 
alogical work, will detect many of these mistakes, 
and we will find ourselves deeply indebted to his 
habit of questioning doubtful points for our recon- 
sideration. 

If the reader is not himself an expert genealogist, 
or is printing his first work, the services of the right 
kind of proof-reader are still more indispensable. 
But, in fact, all writers are largely dependent upon 
the printer and proof-reader for the systematic car- 
rying out of a correct style of punctuation, cap- 
italization and spelling. How satisfying is the 
book which receives expert attention in all these de- 
tails ! 

Finally, choose a printer and publisher who is a 
book-making genius. The author is dependent upon 
the printer for the best suggestions for style of book 
within the limits of cost decided upon. There are 
masters of the art of making books who, having 
learned the author's mind as to price, have an ability 
almost amounting to genius for suggesting the per- 
fect thing within the limit named. They have the 
character of the work in mind, and they suggest an 
ideal combination of type, size of page, illustrations, 
paper, margins and style of cover. Such book-makers 
are readily recognized by the books they turn out. 
The author cannot do better than to follow their sug- 
gestions. 

In a word, let your genealogy appear in the most 
attractive dress which you feel you can afford, and 



THE PRINTING 61 

you ought to feel that you can not afford anything 
which is unscholarly or unsightly. Do you want a 
book which wiU. give you pleasure to the end of time, 
or one which you cannot hand to a friend without an 
apology ? We repeat again the maxim, that the stage 
of printing is no place for injudicious economy! 

Have we any ^^ practical help '^ to offer in this chap- 
ter? Yes, dear reader, if you desire the kind of 
printer's service herein described, it is offered to you 
by the publishers of this little book. Let the reader 
satisfy himself as to the quality of workmanship by 
examining the books which bear the stamp of The 
Grafton Press. If these do not tell the story, nothing 
can. This is the true test in every case. 

We may add, however, that the Genealogical De- 
partment established in connection with The Grafton 
Press was organized expressly to bring together the 
expert co-operation necessary in order to lift every 
feature of genealogical work to a higher standard of 
excellence than now generally prevails. The super- 
vision of this department extends to all the genealogi- 
cal printing done by The Grafton Press. 

In submitting manuscripts in order to obtain es- 
timates of cost of printing, a general idea of the style 
expected should be given. For example, let it be 
known which of the following three kinds of book is 
desired : 

First, the elaborate volume, made for those for 
whom the item of expense is not an important con- 
sideration. This book is sumptuous, " a thing of 



62 CONCEENING GENEALOGIES 

beauty and a joy forever/' It is printed on fine 
hand-made paper, with a handsome morocco binding, 
and illustrations by the very best processes. 

Second, the low-priced book, very plain and strict- 
ly businesslike. It is as useful as the first, but the 
cost is kept down to the minimum. Yet, although 
plain, it is good, and in good taste. 

Third, the book which has a place between the 
other two. Serviceable and of moderate cost, it is 
made very attractive and will give solid satisfaction 
during the years to come. This is the book chosen 
in the great majority of cases.* 

All-important are the principles laid down in this 
chapter. Let the reader regard his genealogical work 
as an offspring to whom he owes all the care of a 
fond parent. It is a question of proper clothes for 
the child. 

All this having been decided on, another duty con- 
fronts the author while his work is in process of 
transformation from a manuscript to a book. He 
not only has proofs to read, but also an index to 
make, or to have made for him. We say nothing of 
an index of general subjects and places; but an in- 
dex of names is indispensable in order to make the 
contents of a genealogical work accessible. If the 
work is a '^ clan '^ genealogy, two indexes are called 

* Address, on all questions of printing, The Grafton Press, Genealogical 
and Biographical Department, 70 Fifth Avenue, New York City. Esti- 
mates given on any kind of manuscript, genealogical, historical or bio- 
graphical, whether for chart, pamphlet or volume. Along with estimates, 
specimens of type-pages, paper, binding and illustrations will be cheer- 
fully submitted when desired. 



THE FEINTING 63 

for, one devoted to persons bearing the common sur- 
name, the other devoted to those of other surnames. 

For example, in " The Smith Family ^' we would 
have one index, in which all the Smiths are arranged 
alphabetically according to their baptismal names. 
The generation to which each individual belonged 
should be shown by a small Arabic figure after his 
baptismal name. The other index includes all the 
other persons mentioned in the book, with an alpha- 
betical arrangement of the different surnames. The 
husbands and children of Smith daughters are found 
in this index. 

The index can be begun as soon as the page-proofs 
are in hand. Each name, with its page number, is 
generally written on a separate slip of paper, all the 
names under one letter being kept together. When 
all are written, the names under '' A ^^ can be rear- 
ranged like a card catalog, according to the alpha- 
betical order of the second, third and fourth letters 
in each name, and when in proper order may be 
pasted upon sheets for the printer. So we continue 
through all the letters of the alphabet. 



VII 

PUBLISHING 

The first copy of our book has come in^ crisp and 
fresh from the binder's. What a delight, what a feast 
to the eye, as we turn its wholesome pages! None 
can imagine the joy of this hour— it must be expe- 
rienced. It never fails us. True, we may be veter- 
ans, who have seen many a campaign; nevertheless, 
each new battle thrills us afresh. Is her fifth babe 
nothing to the mother, because she has had four chil- 
dren ? Just ask her, dear reader ! And so is it with 
the joy of hailing our latest-born, fresh from the 
press-room and bindery! 

But already the reader begins to sigh. " Now, at 
last,'' he cries, " I have exhausted the sensations that 
my book can give ! " Friend, speak not so hastily. 
Have you forgotten the great joy of publishing? the 
excitement of getting the book before the public ? the 
sweetness of the hearty congratulations of friends and 
f ellow- workers ? the delight of reading the press no- 
tices and the book reviews? the pleasure of receiving 
your publisher's smile and handshake as he tells you 
how well the book is selling? the deep satisfaction of 
banking the goodly checks which accompany his re- 
ports of sales? 

The most substantial fruits of our labor are still 
untasted when our book comes from the press, and 
in order that these may be enjoyed to the full by the 



PUBLISHING 65 

reader we offer him the practical suggestions of this 
closing chapter. We assume that the garments of his 
offspring, obtained from the printer, are all that they 
should be. Otherwise, the pleasures of publishing 
can never be realized. Neither our friends, nor the 
reviewer, nor the great public, will enthuse over a 
shabby book. Why should they ? 

But the reader of these pages, we trust, will have 
had his work nicely printed. He is now ready to 
market his book, and he desires the advice of experi- 
ence as to ways and means. 

First of all, choose a publisher. Have the imprint 
of a firm of good standing, furnishers of excellent 
books to the public, upon the title-page of your vol- 
ume. This will be found to be a great advantage 
even if the author expects to push and sell his own 
work. 

In the second place, arrange if possible with the 
publisher to list and handle the book for you, through 
the book and library trade. Have him put it upon 
his catalogues, which are regularly furnished to the 
booksellers. No individual can well attempt to han- 
dle this end of the business himself. He does not 
know how to go about it, and if he did, the necessary 
machinery of manipulation would be too costly if set 
up in connection with a single book. But the pub- 
lisher has this machinery already working in the in- 
terest of his other books, and he only needs to take 
ours on his list in order to give it the benefit of ex- 
tensive publicity. 



66 CONCEENING GENEALOGIES 

Other things being equal, choose a publisher who 
is located in the great book and literary centre of 
the country. No doubt the cost of printing and pub- 
lishing is a trifle more in a large city, where rents 
are high, than in country or semi-country places. 
Nevertheless, it is worth while. The prestige which 
goes with the right place of publication is a satisfac- 
tion to the author and a substantial help to his 
book. 

By all means, if possible, commit the printing and 
the publishing of your book to the same hands. While 
the book is still in process of making, the plans for 
bringing it before the public should be arranged. 
Preliminary announcements can be made, and it can 
be put into catalogues which it would miss if placed 
in the hands of a publisher only after the printing 
had been done. Literary notes, circulars, review 
slips, and all the paraphernalia of its announcement 
to the public can thus be prepared, and all be ready 
for the campaign as soon as the book comes from the 
press. This is a very important point. 

Genealogical works should be committed to pub- 
lishers who have already had experience along this 
special line. The sale of genealogical works depends 
very largely upon a special kind of circularizing 
which will bring them to the attention of those par- 
ticularly interested — public librarians, historical and 
genealogical societies, and special collectors. And 
whether the book be a "clan^^ or ^' Grafton ^^ genealogy, 
there are many who will be anxious to own it, on ac- 



LofCL, 



PUBLISHING 67 

count of distant tribal connections, and who can be 
reached only by the proper methods. 

A little judicious advertising may prove a pay- 
ing investment. For this the author is altogether 
dependent upon his publisher. He who ignorant- 
ly plunges into the luxury of advertising may readily 
sink a large fortune, without returns, in a very short 
time. Or the little that he has to invest will all be 
thrown away. But the experienced publisher is like 
an old fox that has learned the ways of hounds and 
hunters and is not easily caught. Such a publisher 
knows the best mediums, where a modest notice al- 
most always brings good returns, and one cannot do 
better than to reap the fruits of his experience. 

If the reader desires to try his own hand in the 
work of publishing, we wish him well, and advise 
him that the only way in which he may hope to real- 
ize sales is by carrying out, as well as he can, the 
regular methods of the publisher. 

The truth, however, is that the author cannot ex- 
pect to do for himself, even in a modest way, much 
which the experienced publisher does for him. The 
avenues to the book trade, the book reviewer, and 
therefore to the general public, are not really open 
to any of us who are not publishers— as we can soon 
learn by making the attempt to travel, unpiloted, in 
these directions. 

The only genealogist who may hope for any meas- 
ure of financial success by his own efforts, is the au- 
thor of a " clan ^^ genealogy who has systematically 



68 CONCERNING GENEALOGIES 

gathered the names and addresses of the living repre- 
sentatives of the '' tribe ^^ his book exploits. These may 
be circularized, and appealed to on the ground of 
family pride and of fair play. The least they can do 
for a historian who has toiled for their glory is to 
take a copy of his book. 

The plan commonly adopted is to make such works 
" subscription books ^^ from the beginning. The author 
fixes a price for his forthcoming volume and as he 
sends letters for information to living representatives 
of the tribe, he invites a subscription to his book. 
But whether these subscriptions have or have not cov- 
ered the cost of production by the time the book is 
ready for the printer, why should the author not seek 
to realize all the additional profits which can be se- 
cured through the regular channels, aided by a pub- 
lisher ? 

The services of The Grafton Press can be secured 
as the publishers of any good genealogy, as well 
as in all the other capacities hitherto mentioned. 
Probably such a connection would approach as near 
to the ideal set forth in this chapter as any which it 
would be possible to make. Added to all the rest, it 
certainly would secure the hearty co-operation of an 
experienced firm which pushes the works of geneal- 
ogists with special zeal and enthusiasm. 

The publishing of a '' clan '^ genealogy will be cheer- 
fully assumed at any stage in the production. If de- 
sired, the "subscription^^ feature will be taken in 
hand, and that as soon as the author begins his work. 



PUBLISHING 69 

Or if he has handled this feature during the progress 
of authorship, every effort will be made to realize the 
further profits from a proper introduction of the 
book to the public. 

The service rendered may be in the capacity of pub- 
lishing agents merely, or that of a kind of partner- 
ship arrangement in connection with the author's 
book; and the work in question may be a chart, a 
pamphlet, a volume, or a work of still larger propor- 
tions. The desire is to co-operate so as to give the 
worker all the fruits of his toil, and secure to him all 
the profits which the best business methods can 
realize.* 

Many readers will be glad to know what the general 
prospect is for the sale of genealogical works. In the 
matter of immediate sales, such books are not unlike 
others: some have a good run and others sell more 
slowly. Nor can the author or publisher be certain 
in advance of the fate of a book. The favor of the 
public is a peculiar thing, and the quality which 
makes a book popular is frequently beyond the power 
of analysis or the ken of the prophet. 

In the case of '^ clan '^ genealogies, much depends 
upon the size of the ^^ tribe,'' its financial circum- 
stances, degree of family pride, and proper education 
in a genealogical direction. The rest depends upon 
the author and the publisher — upon the employment 

* Correspondence is invited with all who have a genealogy, small or pre- 
tentious, either in hand, in preparation, or in prospect. Address, The 
Grafton Press, Genealogical and Biogi-aphical Department, 70 Fifth Av- 
enue, New York City. 



70 CONCEKNmG GENEALOGIES 

of the right methods in presenting the claims of the 
book. 

But in general, and in the long run, it is undoubt- 
edly true that there is scarcely another kind of book 
which enjoys the permanent popularity and market- 
able character of the genealogical work. Immedi- 
ately after publication, in the case of many " sub- 
scription ^^ genealogies, or in the course of a few years, 
in most cases, the book is at a premium. It does not 
get out of date, like books on other subjects, but be- 
comes more desirable as a historical authority and 
treasure as time passes. There will be a demand for 
it fifty, seventy-five, or a hundred years hence. 

This is what experience has shown. Genealogical 
works compiled on the principles set forth in this lit- 
tle book, with a permanent historical value which can 
never be shaken, because they set forth the proofs of 
their statements, will never lose their marketable 
value. Property rights in such works by copyright 
and copyright renewals should be secured by their au- 
thors. The demand will last so long as Americans 
take an interest in the question of their ancestry, and 
the price will increase as the copies become scarce. 

In conclusion we will suppose that the reader has 
at length tasted all the delights of research, all the 
excitement of the discovery of ancestors. He has ex- 
perienced the pleasure of compiling a Grafton gene- 
alogy, and the joy of seeing it pass from the manu- 
script state into that of the printed volume. The 
triumphs of successful publishing, the delight of 



PUBLISHING 71 

reading the reviews and the satisfaction of realizing 
a fair profit on the sales, have all been his. And now 
perhaps he sighs as he thinks that nothing remains 
but the reminiscence of past enjoyment. 

But here we offer the reader another suggestion. 
Would he have all those pleasures and delights once 
more a reality, and not merely a memory? Then let 
him begin again at the beginning, and start another 
genealogy! And when that is finished let him start 
a third one! What a glorious prospect! Added to 
all the joy and excitement of each achievement there 
is also the prospect of a little stream of checks from 
the sales of each work— two, three, four or five 
streams instead of one! 



THE GRAFTON PRESS 

PUBLISHERS 

at No. 70 Fifth Avenue, New York, was established 
in 1900 by its present secretary, who had been for 
nearly ten years in the manufacturing department of 
Messrs. D. Appleton & Company. Since its organi- 
zation The Grafton Press has developed largely, and 
has a reputation for straightforwardness in dealing 
with its customers, and for producing excellent ex- 
amples of the book-maker's art. Its work is always of 
the best, and special attention is given to the diflBcult 
and important features of genealogical and bio- 
graphical volumes, whether they are to be sold 
through the book trade or distributed privately. 

The organization of The Grafton Press is as 
follows : 

President^ Franklyn Paddock 
Secretary and Treasurer, Frederick H. Hitchcock 
Assistant Treasurer, E. H. Hitchcock 
Advertising and Manufacturing, Charles P. Fry 
Genealogical and Biographical, Frank Allaben 



A FEW YOLUMES MADE IN 
SPECIAL EDITIONS BY 
THE GRAFTON PRESS 



Eegister of the Colonial Dames of the State of New 
York, 1893-1901. 

Benjamin Franklin Newcomer: A Memorial. 

Two hundred and fifty copies, on handsome paper, bound 
in full levant. 

A Sermon of the Cross, by Eobert MacCartee. 
Fifty copies. 

The Cok and Hen, by Geoflfry Chaucer. 

Twenty-six copies published, in vellum, illuminated by 
hand. 

Prayers, by Eobert MacCartee. 

Princeton Club Book. 

Eeport of Dinner to E. Fulton Cutting and Elgin E. 
L. Gould. 

Abt Vogler, by Eobert Browning. 
Ten copies for illuminating. 

Princeton Class Books of the Classes of 1873, 1876, 
1886, 1891, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1903. 

Yale Class Book, 1897. 



Columbia Class Books of the Classes of 1901, 1902, 
1903. 

United States Naval Academy Class Book of the 
Class of 1876. 

Eeport of Dinner given to Ambassador Cambon, by 
Hon. Chauncey M. Depew and Mr. James H. Hyde. 

Waes Hael, The Book of Toasts. 

Five hiindred copies publislied at $7.50 each. 

The Fraternity Book. 

Thirty copies sold privately at $30 each. 

Gen. Granf s Tour of the Mle. 

Five hundred copies published at $2.50 each. 

The History of Ancient Wethersfield, Connecticut. 
Five hundred sets of two volumes at $18 each. 

The Barony of the Kose, a Monograph. 
Twenty-five copies. 

The History of Amherst College. 

One hundred copies, on handsome paper, published at $10 
each. 

The Ancestry of Leander Howard Crall. 
One hundred and fifty copies at $30. 

A Eecord of Baptisms by the Kev. John Craig. 
Fifty copies at $25 each. 

A Biographical Memorial of General Daniel Butter- 
field. 
Four hundred copies for private circulation. 



THE ANCESTRY 

OF 

LEANDER HOWARD CRALL 

By Frank Allaben. 

This genealogical work is modeled upon '' the Graf- 
ton Plan/^ with monographs on the families of Crall, 
Haff, Beatty, Asfordby, Meet^ Van Ysselsteyn, Mid- 
dagh^ Bergen, and de Kapalje, each introduced by a 
pedigree chart and accompanied by a documentary 
appendix. It also contains some account of the 
families of Matthews, Vater and de Mandeville, to- 
gether with the pedigrees and coats of arms of Eng- 
lish families intermarried with Asfordby^—Billesby 
of Billesby, Heneage of Hainton, Langton of Lang- 
ton, Kyme of Friskney, Cracroft of Cracroft Hall, 
and Newcomen of Saltfleetby and Low Toynton. 

Quarto, cloth, with numerous charts, portraits, 
autographs, coats of arms, and historical documents. 
Edition limited to 150 signed and numbered copies. 
Price, $30.00 net (carriage extra). 

THE GEAFTON PKESS, Publishers 
70 Fifth Avenue, New York 



A RECORD OF BAPTISMS 

By the Eev. John Craig. 

Beginning Anno Domini, 1740. 

Edited by Hon. John E. Eoller. 

This is a most interesting document for those 
families of Scotch-Irish descent settled in the part of 
Virginia covered by Dr. Craig's work. It is accom- 
panied by an introduction, and by a fac-simile repro- 
duction of 43 pages of the original record book in Dr. 
Craig's handwriting. 

8vo., cloth. Only 50 copies are for sale at $25.00 
net. 

THE GRAFTON PEESS, Publishers 

70 Fifth Avenue, N^ew York 

SLEEPY HOLLOW CHUECH 
RECORDS 

By Eev. David Cole, D.D. 

This is the first record book of the " Old Dutch 
Church of Sleepy Hollow/^ New York, translated, 
with its four registers, of members, consistorymen, 
baptisms, and marriages, from the organization of 
the church to the year 1791. 

Quarto, cloth, 262 pages. Price, $7.00 net. 

THE GRAFTON PRESS, Publishers 
70 Fifth Avenue, New York 



%s 



THE HISTORY OF 

ANCIENT WETHERSFIELD 

CONNECTICUT 

By Henry E. Stiles, A.M., M.D. 

This large work, by one of the most eminent 
American genealogists and local historians, is pub- 
lished in two volumes of about 1,000 pages each, and 
contains genealogies and notes on more than 200 
families, together with the history of Wethersfield, 
Eocky Hill, Newington, and Glastonbury, Conn., 
from the earliest settlement to the present time. The 
volumes are illustrated with views of old buildings 
and historic localities, maps, portraits, and auto- 
graphs, and the edition is limited to 500 copies. 

8vo., cloth, gilt top, uncut. Price $18.00 net (car- 
riage extra). After publication the price will be $25 
net (carriage extra), and may be increased from time 
to time. 

THE GEAFTON PEBSS, Publishers 
70 Fifth Avenue, New York 



Air- 



:)■; 



' I'^'Vr* 






LIBRARY OF CONGRESS % 



027 211 067 













' ... :^f ■ l|, " '■ 

"•V A .^T 







mm 



